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1st XI v ST PRIEST 29 NOVEMBER 2008
For once in my life, a team that I support registers a comfortable victory. That's quite a change now.
Pionsat's opening goal was a beauty. There was a nice series of balls up the field, and with an outrageous backheel, one of the forwards set the other attacker free and clear on goal. From here, it was the simplest of tasks to curl it round the keeper and into the net.
I've done my share of criticism of the no9 in the past, but not with this goal. It was well-taken.
This was almost a carbon copy of the first goal - a good interchange between the same two strikers, another outrageous backheel from one into the path of the other that sets him clear on goal.
Two major differences this time, though. Firstly, the action takes place down the right wing, aand secondly, although the ball just about makes it over the head of the St Priest keeper, it also just about makes it over the bar. That was a shame for the movement was if anything better than the first goal.
In the meantime, I dunno whether this is a foretaste of things to come, but there's some kind of "issue" involving the Pionsat no4 and one of the St Priest attackers. He was fouled once and reacted, and the ref had a stern word with him, and blow me if he hasn't just reacted again. This has led to something of a dust-up on the far side and the ref hasn't hesitated in flashing a yellow card at the two of them, and also to a third player (one of the St Priest players, it transpires) who became involved in the pushing and shoving that followed.
I wish these players would cut it out and get on with the game
Leaving the action behind, we return to the football and a moment of panic in the Pionsat defence. A mix-up between the two centre-backs brought the keeper to life, and he compounded the affair by slicing his desperate clearance for a corner.
The delivery from the corner was one of the best that I've seen, and brought a crashing header from a St Priest attacker that had the keeper beaten all ends up. Luckily there was a Pionsat defender on the post who hacks it off the line to save what would have been a certain goal.
Pionsat almost managed a second goal here. A quick break down the wing by Pionsat and with the help of a suicide ball from a St Priest defender, the Pionsat winger is clear on goal.
He gets in a hammer shot, but the St Priest keeper stands his ground and gets in a good block. Luckily for St Priest the ball rebounds to safety. Any Pionsat attacker free up the inside would have had a simple tap-in from 15 yards.
And look at the Pionsat no9 - totally unmarked in the centre of the goal.
Now that the ref has learnt to write, he can't resist getting his pen, notebook and yellow card out. This was for a late challenge on a St Priest winger. But I had some issues about this card. The tackle was a justified one - albeit late - and there wasn't any malice involved . A "word of advice" would have been much more appropriate here.
But the ref was only a young lad - probably still in his late teens by the looks of things, and he was keen to stamp his authority on the game. And despite his over-keenness on the notebook, he was decisive, clear in his gestures, stood for no nonsense and was quite prepared to confront the players with a series of lectures. He was, much to my surprise, the first ref that I have seen at this level in France who knows how to run on a football field - across the diagonal, keeping the play between him and the linesman and relying on the distant linesman to watch for events going on behind his back.
Yes, decisions and the like are pretty subjective, but the performance of the ref was quite impressive. It's good to see youngsters keen to pick up the whistle and they should be encouraged. Without refs there wouldn't be matches and many people tend to forget that particular fact of life, and people shouldn't be in too much of a hurry to hurl abuse at the ref.
We did discover at half-time the reason for the keenness of this young lad. There was an official from the league sitting in the stand watching the game.
Midway through the second half, Pionsat score a second goal. A beautifully-worked ball down the left wing and a good cross into the centre found one of the Pionsat forwards totally unmarked. He had all the time in the world to pick his spot and score an easy goal.
Unfortunately, the St Priest keeper, in a desperate attempt to keep it out, collided with the goalpost and for several minutes it was doubtful if he could continue. But after a blast of the magic spray, he got up and hobbled around with something of a limited mobility (except, of course, when he needed to run after the ball).
St Priest still kept on coming on the attack whenever they could, and were unlucky here.
A nicely-worked move into the Pionsat area, but it looked like the defence had it covered. The Pionsat defender slipped, however, and served up a chance for a St Priest attacker. But with the keeper beaten, the ball slid agonisingly round the wrong side of the post. That's a couple of occasions now that Pionsat have ridden their luck. There are a couple of St Priest players in the goalmouth totally unmarked.
This was a movement that deserved a goal too. A good ball over the top to beat the offside trap, and it may well have been going out. But a Pionsat player races to the touchline and manages to knock it back into the centre of the goalmouth.
In a desperate rush to the ball, the St Priest defence just manages to clear it before the onrushing Pionsat no9 comes into the picture. Something of a moment of panic here.
Pionsat manage a third goal late in the game. Another nice build-up with another good shot at goal, but a St Priest defender kicks it off the line.
He only manages to clear it to the edge of the penalty area where there are a half-dozen players. One of the Pionsat forwards gets the ball, shrugs off a handful of powder-puff tackles, and makes it 3-0 to the home side. I wasn't impressed with the St Priest defence - they seem to have run out of steam.
Definitely run out of steam now, the St Priest defence. Pionsat's team is not all that quick, but they are quick enough at this level to make the St Priest team uncomfortable late on in the game.
A nicely-worked ball through the centre leaves a Pionsat forward with the easiest of tasks to drive home from the edge of the area. Once again, there's yet another Pionsat forward unmarked in the centre as the St priest defence is too slow to get back from upfield.
This was another one of those contentious moments, of which there seemed to have been a few in this game. A good ball into the Pionsat area and the keeper comes out and takes it cleanly. The St Priest centre-forward, following up a few seconds later, collides gratuitously with the aforementioned player, much to the wrath of the Pionsat defence. That would have been worth a yellow card, given some of the other cards that have been brandished
Mind you, the Pionsat keeper has the habit of standing there with the ball at his feet inviting a challenge from an attacker, only picking it up at the last minute. I'm never sure why this is seen as a good tactic. It's too easy for the keeper to slip, or fail to pick up the ball cleanly, or a host of other disasters to happen. The ball wants to be downfield as quickly as possible, putting the other team under pressure and maybe even catch them out of position - as with that beautiful goal that Pionsat scored against Teilhet the other week.
Not long now until the final whistle, but still time for some drama. A good ball into the St Priest area along the goal line finds a Pionsat forward and the St Priest keeper in a challenge for the ball. There's a collision, and the ball trickles to safety. The keeper is not happy with the challenge, and some refs might have given a foul even though it was clearly a 50-50 ball. THis ref didn't blow, much to the keeper's displeasure.
The keeper continued to express his displeasure in terms that would not have been out of place in the foc's'le of a whaler. The ref has enough, books the keeper for dissent, and warns the St Priest captain of the need to control his players.
Amazingly, the keeper continues after having already been cautioned, but the ref turns a deaf ear to the situation and blows for full time.
Almost immediately at the final whistle, we are engulfed in a downfall of heavy snow. That's not boding very well for tomorrow.
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